1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pivoting step which is utilized to facilitate a child or a diminutive person to wash their hands at a lavatory located at a public restroom.
2. Description of Related Art
Restroom utilization is typically a daily routine for just about everyone, whether at home, work, shopping, or eating out. However, restroom designs are not standardized and are typically inadequate. The flux of the inconsistencies of restrooms has prompted, among other things, the formation of the American Restroom Association, which discusses various aspects of restrooms at www.Americanrestroom.org. The mission statement for the American Restroom Association includes the advocation for the availability of clean, safe, well-designed public restrooms which includes restroom design and technology, restroom availability, pertinent legislation and regulations, and increasing research related to the problems faced by people who hesitate to travel or who avoid activities that put them out of range of proper toilet facilities. Since there is no standardization of restrooms, almost all states adopt comprehensive consensus code that contains language, requiring toilet facilities for customers, patrons and visitors. This code is then enacted statewide, or where not mandated, is often adopted voluntarily at the municipal level. Of related interest, the formulas that describe the required minimum number of toilets are being updated to reflect ongoing issues. With a few exceptions, states adopt either the International Plumbing Code (IPC), the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) or the National Standard Plumbing Code (NSPC). While these codes typically are concerned with identifying issues regarding the number of restrooms and lavatories which must be present depending upon accessibility and the size of the public establishment, these codes are deficient in identifying specific requirements to standardization of rest rooms. For instance, while there is a trend for hands-free operation of toilets, lavatories and the like, these are merely incorporated into restrooms at the discretion of the proprietor of the public facility and are not mandated by any legislation. Accordingly, while restrooms are required to meet certain standards so that they can be utilized by everyone, they are not necessarily designed for everyone. In fact, until recently, handicapped individuals experienced great hardship in utilizing public restrooms until legislation to eliminate these hardships was put into place by the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Accordingly, since the utilization of public restrooms is a common occurrence, their designs should include access for everyone. For the purposes of this patent application, “restroom” is defined as a room equipped with toilets and lavatories for public use.
The impact of the construction of toilets has led to the establishment of international meetings regarding issues surrounding public restrooms. In 2005, conventions were held in Belfast, Ireland and Shanghai, China, and in 2006 conventions are scheduled for Moscow, The Russian Federation, and Bangkok, Thailand, with the conference in Moscow including issues relating to children's utilization of public restrooms.
In addition to the adequate presence of restrooms, the overall construction and condition of restrooms is also important to the public. A recent survey conducted by the International Facility Management Association, www.ifma.org, indicated that besides a public building's front entrance, its restrooms have the greatest potential to negatively impact a visitor's impression of a facility. Also, durability, cleanliness and ADA compliance were highly regarded characteristics of restrooms. Of the respondents to the survey, nearly three-quarters believed that their restrooms were the most frequently visited common area of the building. Key findings from the survey indicated that issues regarding the restrooms were as frequent as other prime issues such as parking and temperature. In particular, customers were most concerned with restroom cleanliness and indicated hands-free sensor technology is the most popular design trend. Accordingly, the experience which the public has with a particular establishment's restroom will greatly affect that individual's perception of that establishment.
The interrelationship between the public and restrooms is so intertwined that not only is the location of restrooms important but also their accessibility, interactivity and safety. For instance, at a meeting at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo regarding utilization of public amenities, certain key attributes for restrooms was discussed. Such guidelines regarding the design of restrooms included the physical design, such as the floor surfaces draining and drying quickly; the provision of the automatic flush plumbing and changing tables for babies; hooks for coats at or below 48 inches, and other ergonomically friendly features.
However, with all of the attention placed on restrooms and their “friendliness” to the public, a major problem with restrooms currently exists. Namely, lavatories are too high for children, toddlers and diminutive persons to utilize. This is especially a problem because many lavatories have installed infrared devices to trigger the faucet to turn on. Hence, while parents go to public places with their children such as museums, aquariums, zoos, and restaurants, the lavatories and sinks at these public restrooms are too high for the child to use without assistance from a parent. Accordingly, a parent has to pick up a toddler and hold them prone over a sink countertop to enable the toddler to wash its hands. Inevitably, the toddler gets its clothing wet due to the water left on the countertop from previous usage by an adult. To perform this maneuver, the parent typically has to place a diaper bag or other item which he is typically carrying onto the lavatory floor, pick up the toddler, and then place the toddler back down. As toddlers mature, their weight can approach forty pounds and more, but they are still too short to utilize the lavatory. Such toddler weight is too heavy for some parents, and in some cases, the parent may injure himself picking up and orienting the toddler over the sink.
While portable step stools are known to increase a person's height for various reasons, these portable step stools are generally only utilized at home so they may be conveniently stored and utilized. These stools are too cumbersome for travel, especially with a small child or toddler. However, when away from home, children also need to utilize the lavatories in public places such as stores, restaurants, aquariums, zoos, parks, airports and the like, and accordingly, there is a need for a way to enable toddlers and diminutive persons to have access to a sink at a public restroom.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a booster step for children/toddlers and diminutive persons to enable the individual to utilize a sink in a public facility.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a booster step that is accessible for children/toddlers and diminutive persons while also being out of the way of taller individuals, so that their utilization of a sink in a public facility is not impeded.